At 31 years old, my skin care routine has never been more important to me. It’s the age old case of “not listening to advice until it happens to you” when it came to taking care of my skin. My mother always told me to moisturize in the morning and before I go to bed at night, so I always knew how important that was. Thankfully, nowadays there are far more options when it comes to skin care and I am happy to find that personalizing my skin care routine has made all the difference!When I was first asked to perform the Olay 28 day skin study, I was happy to oblige because I’m always looking to improve certain parts of my complexion and so far, nothing has really seemed to hold its weight over time in that category.

The first step was to take a little four step “skin quiz” at skinadvisor.olay.com and find out a little bit more. The first thing the tool asks of you is to snap an honest selfie (sans makeup). While this is slightly terrifying, it is necessary in order to get a good read on your complexion. So, I took off my daily makeup and did my best to take a quick shot with my cell phone (while attempting not to pick apart every imperfection).

Next, the skin advisor tool asked me what my main concern was. I had to choose one of the following: wrinkles and fine lines, sagging skin, uneven skin tone, dullness, visible pores, acne, crow’s feet, dark circles, or puffy eyes. I chose “wrinkles and fine lines”. After this step, the assessment asks you to define your skin type (combination), and which products I use at least twice per week. It continues on to ask how many products you apply in the morning as well as at night.

I really like that it got personal enough to ask how I like my skin to feel so I would be comfortable with the products they were likely to suggest. I chose “richly moisturized” then it asked me if I would prefer to have SPF included within my skin care routine products and if I would like them to be scented or not.

After running my complexion through a scanner comparing my face to “thousands of other women’s” they came to the conclusion that my skin’s age was 34. Kinda scary, considering I’m only 31. Either way, I knew I needed to get serious and make a change to slow my skin’s aging process.

The tool suggested that I concentrate on my concerns with fine lines and wrinkles–particularly with my under eye area and forehead. They suggested to incorporate exfoliating wet cleansing wipes at night for make up removal, revitalizing foaming cleanser for face washing, under eye cream for nighttime and in the morning prior to putting on my make up , and miracle boost serum for concentrated care in my targeted “focus” areas.

For an entire month, I pushed my usual skin care routine products to the side in favor of this personalized and newly-curated product line suggested just for me. I keep a little paper journal on my dresser for updates on my weight loss journey, stomach issue updates, important things to remember and for this study: my skin’s reaction.

Here’s how it went:

Day 1: Used the Regenerist Micro-Exfoliating Wet Cleansing Cloth face wipes to take off my make up and I was presently surprised that my skin didn’t feel as dried out as it normally does with the generic “calming” ones I usually use at night. Thankfully, my temperamentally sensitive skin didn’t react with redness like it sometimes can.

Day 2: Woke up at the usual 5 a.m. and proceeded to wash my face with the Total Effects Revitalizing Foaming Face Cleanser and noticed that my skin felt a lot tighter than usual. This going to take a little getting used to, but my skin definitely feels clean and without any extra oil that I usually feel on my nose and chin.

Went to put on my make up and almost forgot to use my Olay Luminous Miracle Boost Concentrate Face Booster before I put on my daily moisturizing cream. Had to go grab it from the bathroom and bring it into where I do my make up. Feel soft, don’t need a lot to get the job done and I like that I have a little applicator tube that sucks up just the right amount of product to avoid overuse. Rubbed it all over my face and it instantly felt tighter. Proceeded to put on a light moisturizer and then my every day makeup.

Day 12: It’s been a little over a week and I’m getting used to the instant tightening feeling after using these products but my skin seems to feel a little more “awake” than it normally does.

Day 17: This is feeling normal now and I’m not sure I would go back to my original cleanser. I really like how clean my face feels after the foaming face cleanser; it seems that my skin doesn’t get oily as quickly after I wash my face with this. As for the booster, I feel that paired with my usual moisturizer the two work together nicely to hydrate my under eye area even if I’m only getting about 5 hours of sleep (I hate testing season).

Day 28: Last (but not really last) day of the study and I have already recommended the booster to my sister-in-law and one of my friends. Earlier this week, I was at the Bloomingdale’s make up counter to re-up on my foundation (and possibly get a darker tone since I can finally go outside being this close to summer in Florida) and ask the lady was taking off my make up from my work day, she made a comment on how nice my skin was. I’m going to be honest, I came back with “seriously?” because I tend to be self-conscious of my forehead and eye area and she replied with “yeah, you have a pretty even skin tone”. I was basically walking on air the rest of the day and didn’t feel the need to put my foundation back on after that. Thanks, lady. Hello, #confidenceboost.

The Olay Luminous Miracle Boost Concentrate Face Booster is a new type of product that I hadn’t really been introduced to prior to this study. I have always been curious about serums and what they really do so I was pretty pumped to try this one out. I looked up how/when to use it and I found out that you’re supposed to put it on directly after facial cleansing and before your moisturizing routine.

I apply it all over my face in a thin layer (the applicator tube is perfect for ensuring the right amount of product each time) then went ahead with my usual moisturizer and make up routine.

Overall, I’m impressed with this line. My skin feels tighter and I have started to tell a difference in my under eye area–it doesn’t look as sallow and maybe even a bit more plump. I feel like these products have done well to even out my skin and make the “canvas” for make up application that much smoother. Check out the products I use & others that are are tailored to your skin’s needs here: walmart.com/28daysofolay

That being said, I did figure out a few things that I’d like to share with you guys about making changes to and improving your overall skin care routine.

Make sure you completely remove your make up prior to cleansing your face. I didn’t realize this at first, and figured out pretty quickly how much of a difference this makes in keeping your skin clean and clear of residue.

Feel free to moisturize more than once throughout your day to keep skin hydrated. (Additionally, I used the Miracle Booster a few times a day on certain days that my skin was feeling oily or tired).

Make up wipes aren’t the “anti-Christ” if you use them prior to washing your face. Using them INSTEAD OF washing your face can lead to impurities that case break outs.

Serums can be applied at night as well a in the morning to keep your skin care targeted and improve results faster.

Pay attention to what you eat. Maybe it was a coincidence, but eating cleaner during this study–I believe– did a lot to contribute to my skin benefits as well as the products themselves.

*Disclosure: I was provided compensation through Acorn Influence for the above post, however all opinions are 100% honest & my own.